Team Penske PC3 at Silverstone Classic 2015. Photo by David Merrett (CC BY 2.0). - Credit Links at the end of the content
Team Penske is another U.S. team whose foray into F1 may have been short-lived, but it left a lasting mark on the sport.
The team competed from 1974 until 1977, when it was sold.
However, it managed to carve a reputation as one of the most successful American efforts in the the ’70s.
The Penske F1 team entered the championship in 1974, already bringing experience from IndyCar and Can-Am programs.
Over the course of just three full seasons as a constructor in F1, Penske competed in 41 Grand Prix, leaving behind one race victory, three podiums, and 23 points.
For a new team in the 1970s, it was tough to keep up and fight for points. The grid was fiercely competitive, with so many privateers trying their luck, yet Penske managed to make it through and enjoy the moments of success. Of course, they were not the only American team in F1 back then—teams like Shadow Racing Cars also tried their hand at the championship. You can read more about these forgotten teams in our “Forgotten Teams” section on the website.
Team Penske in F1
Penske was a small team at the time, and competing in F1 was a truly difficult task, facing numerous competitors, many with over 20 years of experience.
Penske’s first and the only win in F1, came at the Austrian GP in 1976, when John Watson claimed victory driving the PC4.
Most interesting story is that the team remains the last American-lisenced constructor to win F1 race, a record still stands.
Penske’s 5th place finish in the 1976 championship remains their best season, showing that the PC4 was a promising car and a symbol of hope for the team’s future.
Finally, in 2026, we have another American-based team entering Formula 1: Cadillac F1. This could be the moment to break Penske’s long-standing record. Even if it does not happen immediately in 2026, the Cadillac project has the potential in the coming years to rewrite the history of American teams in the sport.
Team Penske’s F1 Cars
Penske was not just a team that entered F1 and bought a chassis or other assets, they built their first car from scratch, the PC1, which debuted at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix.
Like many teams of the era, Team Penske used the Ford Cosworth DFV V8 engine, which dominated F1 for nearly a decade.
However, early results were mixed, but it scored points in 1975 at the Swedish GP, proving the team could compete.
Later, frustration with development delays led Team Penske to briefly use a customer March 751 chassis in 1975, the car tragically linked to the American driver Donohue’s fatal crash.
The Penske PC3 in early 1976 was a transitional design, refined from the March 751 while preparing for the final masterpiece, the PC4.
By late 1976, the Penske PC4 had evolved into a genuine front-runner, taking podiums in France and Britain before their historic win at the Austrian GP.
Key Figures Behind Team Penske’s F1 Success
Team Penske F1 program combined American and European expertise, and at the heart of their success was their driver, Mark Donohue. Known as ‘Captain Nice,’ he was not just behind the wheel but also the engineering soul of the team.
After dominating IndyCar and Can-Am, he returned to racing specifically to help Roger Penske make a mark in F1.
According to various sources, Mark Donohue is often remembered as a pioneer of the engineer-driver archetype, using his technical expertise to create what he famously called ‘the unfair advantage.
Source: FLICKR
Mark Donohue driving the Penske PC1, the first F1 chassis built by the team. Donohue, both engineer and driver, gave everything to keep Team Penske fighting at the front of F1.
As far as we know, the most recent licensed engineer who was also a driver in F1 was Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin, but he wasn’t involved as an engineer—he only drove for the team in 2018.
After Donohue passed away, Northern Irish driver John Watson stepped in and delivered the team’s most memorable moment by winning the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. According to various sources, Watson had made a bet with Roger Penske that if he won, he would shave off his famous beard—a bet he honored after the victory.
On the management side, Roger Penske provided the overarching vision, while the UK operations were run by Heinz Hofer and later Derrick Walker, who would go on to become a legendary figure in American motorsports.
Mark Donohue is not the only engineer-driver in F1 history. There are plenty of well-known names: Bruce McLaren, who both competed and founded his own team, and Colin Chapman, who entered the 1956 French GP as a driver but didn’t race due to a practice crash.
Why Did Team Penske Quit Formula 1?
Looking back, the team had done an impressive job and was on the right path, but Roger Penske chose to withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of 1976.
There were several factors that led Roger Penske to make this decision. The team lost its main sponsor, who redirected funding to Tyrrell for the following season.
Operationally, managing a world-class F1 team in England while also running programs in the United States like IndyCar and NASCAR made the F1 effort really difficult to sustain.
Team Penske sold the F1 assets to ATS Racing, the German team of Gunther Schmid, which continued to run the PC4 chassis in 1977. ATS scored their first points with that car in their very first race, but for Penske, it marked the end of an extraordinary, albeit brief, chapter in F1 history.
Many F1 teams failed due to financial problems and eventually vanished, but each left its mark on the sport’s history. It was a golden era that people still miss today, and many come back to read and relive the stories of the past.
Does Team Penske Still Exist?
Absolutely the team still exists, while they no longer compete in F1, Team Penske continues to thrive in other motorsport arenas.
They remain a powerhouse in IndyCar, and sports car racing, and their F1 adventure lives on as a symbol of American ambition, the last U.S.-licensed constructor to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Are they planning to return to F1? According to reports, a comeback as a full works team seems unlikely. However, there is no doubt that with their experience, resources, and racing pedigree, Team Penske would be fully capable of competing at the very top level of Formula 1.
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Remembering Team Penske
Their journey may have been short, but its impact endures. They showed that an American team could build, fight, and even win in a sport dominated by European constructors for decades.
From the tragedy of Donohue to Watson’s unforgettable victory, Penske’s story in F1 remains one of courage and unforgettable moments in racing history.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT:
Team Penske PC3 at Silverstone Classic 2015. Photo by David Merrett (CC BY 2.0). – SOURCE: FLICKR
All image credits are included at the end of the content. We are currently addressing indexing issues on our website, so until this is resolved, credits and source links will remain at the bottom.
This content is the result of research by our CarsRave team. We aim to share everything we can about these teams and update the stories over time.
